Speaking at Hegde’s birth centenary celebrations at Vidhana Soudha, which he inaugurated along with Vice President CP Radhakrishnan, Shivakumar also said a major road in Bengaluru’s Shivarama Karanth Layout would be named after the former chief minister.
He said he had discussed with Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister Santosh Lad the introduction of a Ramakrishna Hegde Best Panchayat Award, to be given annually on Hegde’s birthday to recognise the best-performing panchayat.
Shivakumar said Hegde was not merely a political leader but one who created leaders from the panchayat level to Parliament.
“Hegde was a leader who built new leadership. True leadership means creating more leaders,” he said.
He credited Hegde’s experiments with Panchayati Raj in Karnataka with becoming a model for the country and later influencing the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments introduced during the Rajiv Gandhi government.Shivakumar said Hegde had stayed away from caste-based politics and instead focused on values, social justice, public service and development. His political influence extended across Karnataka, he added.
“Hegde’s life is like a dictionary. We can learn from his principles and conduct. He showed that power should not be seen as a symbol of strength, but as an opportunity to serve people,” Shivakumar said.
Recalling the state’s economic expansion, Shivakumar said Karnataka’s budget was around Rs 3,687 crore during Hegde’s tenure between 1982 and 1987, compared with about Rs 4.5 lakh crore under the present Siddaramaiah government.
He also credited Hegde’s policies with helping expand medical and engineering education in the state and creating conditions for the growth of private educational institutions.
“Karnataka today leads the country in medical and engineering education,” he said, adding that education and human resources remain the state’s biggest strengths.
Recalling his early political career in Kanakapura, Shivakumar said he entered politics during the period when Hegde and PGR Sindhia were influential in the region.
He also noted Hegde’s influence across political parties, saying leaders including Siddaramaiah, RV Deshpande, Basavaraj Rayareddy and BL Shankar had been shaped by his political school.
Shivakumar said Hegde had the ability and opportunity to become prime minister but that it did not happen for “certain reasons”.
“Our government will continue to carry forward Hegde’s principles, values-based politics, Panchayati Raj vision and development thinking,” he said.
